Massie: Skin color's still important in politics

Mychal Massie
Columnist

Today the idea of not being judged by the color of one’s skin but being judged by the content of one’s character is as farcical as the idea of unicorns. Judging based on color of skin is exactly the barometer race-mongers and racialists measure with today; content of character be damned.

As I have said before, "Obama would never have been elected if he were white." The color of his skin has been, and continues to be, his trump card that forgives his most egregious acts as an elected official; and the color of his skin certainly forgives his transpicuous shortcomings on a personal level. It is the color of his skin that (in large part) has protected him (thus far) from impeachment. I defy one of the voices who have, with feigned solemnity, uttered Dr. King’s now famous words to argue they would stand passionately silent if Obama were a white president.

Having witnessed the negative things said about Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Clinton, I’m prepared to debate that Michelle Obama doesn’t hold a candle to them pursuant to etiquette and proper positional behavior, and yet she is revered for etiquette, propriety, and more, specifically because of her skin color.

Color of skin is an important concern when it comes to politics. If said were not the case, Tea Party groups would not be maligned by NAACP, the Urban League, and the Congressional Black Caucus. If color of skin no longer mattered, there would be less gravity placed on it in the context of today where it is used as a bludgeon by blacks and liberals to foment discord and/or to have their way.

The content of America’s character speaks volumes in that America has elected black officials since immediately after the signing of the Emancipation Act to every political post we have. The content of America’s character has been witnessed in her willingness to right injustice. The content of America’s character is not portrayed by Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others who have engaged in racial extortion.

Content of character is waived when talking about Trayvon Martin. Content of character is waived when speaking of personal responsibility as it pertains to blacks. Content of character is waived when it comes to Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the New Black Panther Party, et al.

Even more egregious is that invidious marplots have co-opted and misrepresented Dr. King’s message. With poisoned tongues, they are quick to use Dr. King’s forward-looking message of being judged by character juxtaposed to color of skin as it serves their evil and divisive purposes, but they conveniently dismiss the other words Dr. King uttered in his momentous "I Have A Dream" speech.

Dr. King said: "There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: ‘For Whites Only.’ We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Those concerns Dr. King referenced that day are no longer the case. The signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 ended that discrimination. Today a restaurant can very quickly become the target of a civil rights investigation if the staff takes longer to service their table than a black person feels comfortable waiting. Qualifications be damned, if a black is denied a bank loan the primal cry is "it was because of skin color."

Most people have no clue that Dr. King also said that day, "Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’"

That day Dr. King references arrived long ago, and isolated instances to the contrary are anecdotal not systemic.

I personally believe Dr. King would be appalled by the behavior and infectious propensity to eschew modernity by so many blacks today. And I feel strong enough pursuant to same that I am prepared to say if I am wrong in said opinion, then I am completely wrong about Dr. King himself.

What part of Dr. King’s message called for self-segregation? What part of Dr. King’s mission was dedicated toward the mass slaughter of unborn children? What part of Dr. King’s message sanctioned banausic behavior and the breakdown of the nuclear family?

Based on the content of Dr. King’s character, I refuse to believe that he would have applauded the spectacle of misogynistic, anti-societal, anti-propriety, rap music as representative of a so-called black culture.

Dr. King said he believed in the "American dream." The American dream is that of forward thinking and embracing modernity. It bespeaks the very "truths" that we, in fact, do hold "to be self-evident." "All men are created equal" by God; and in America, despite what the naysayers and proponents of racial immiseration would prostitute for gain and out of ignorance, we are equal. And, in a perverse way, if any are not treated equal today, it is white conservatives and/or anyone who argues against the idea that America is mired in the antebellum past.

Mychal S. Massie is the former National Chairman of the conservative black think tank, Project 21-The National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives; and a member of its parent think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research. You can find more at mychal-massie.com.